Steam rose from the crushed car,
now sitting crippled in the intersection. Frantically people ran about trying
to figure out what to do. Finally someone located a cell phone and called
an ambulance.

The driver from the other vehicle
involved raced up to the driver’s side of the totaled car. He gasped
in horror when he saw the woman leaning against the steering wheel; a gash
on the side of her head was bleeding heavily.

Frantic, he yanked open the door,
thanking God that it wasn’t stuck, and pressed a handkerchief to her
wound. Immediately he threw it away and took off his shirt, pressing it against
her head, while he tried to wake her up.

The emotion in his voice was uncontrollable.
He stroked her hair, crying, fearing the worst.

When the paramedics arrived, they
had to wrestle the man away from the victim. Naked and bloody from the waist
up, he tried to wipe his tears away, smearing her blood on his face.

“Mister,” a police officer
tried to console him, “are you all right?”

He looked at the officer blankly.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again. If she dies,
my life will be over.”

“Hey,” the officer said, touching
his shoulder, “you managed to stop the bleeding, and the paramedics
have her stabilized. She is unconscious, but I think she is going to survive.
I have seen much worse than this, and they have survived.”

Watching the ambulance drive away,
he looked at the officer and said nothing, the pain too great in his heart
to speak.

The officer decided to wait for
the man to calm down before questioning him. Sitting down on the curb next
to him, he watched the road crew and fellow officers try to figure out what
happened, as the man sat with his head in his hands, clearly inconsolable.

Finally, after sitting there for
fifteen minutes, the officer offered to drive the distraught man to the hospital.
“You can see for yourself that she is going to be OK. Besides, the doctors
need to check you out as well.”

The man nodded gratefully and followed
him to the police cruiser.

20 years earlier...

The rain poured hard as Eve Johnson
buckled her son, J.T., into his car seat, and then quickly jumped into the
car and headed to work. The bleak rainy day reminded her of the day she left
Boston.

Eve let herself float back to the
day she had left, three years and one month ago. Alistair Crane had forced
her to leave, even going so far as to threaten her life. Eve had decided that
the only thing for her to do was to get as far away as she could. The very
idea tore her heart into pieces.

The night before she left, just
as she had finished putting her packed bags back into the closet, just in
case someone spotted them, there was a knock and Eve opened the door to see
who it was.

Julian stood there, dressed in a
black suit that made him look so devilishly handsome. Lord, how she loved
him! Grinning at her, he asked to come in for a minute. Against her better
judgment, Eve let him in.

As he entered the room, it suddenly
seemed smaller to Eve. His size and presence seemed to fill not just the room,
but her senses as well. Eve’s eyes met his and they stared at each other
for a long time. Her heart started to pound as he stepped close to her.

He touched her face lightly and
pushed back a strand of hair. Eve caught her breath at his touch. He smiled
at the effect he was having on her - not to mention how crazy he was for her.
He placed a finger under her chin and raised her face to his.

The gentle smile on his face, the
love in his eyes, the warmth of his breath, and the intoxicating scent of
his cologne caused Eve’s head to spin. “W...w...why are you here?”
she stammered weakly.

“Shhhhh,” he whispered.
“I’m here because I love you.”

Tears filled her eyes; the thought
of leaving him was almost unbearable. “I love you too,” she choked
out.

Mistaking her tears for happiness,
Julian pulled her into his arms and gently lowered his lips to hers.

Eve clung to him and welcomed his
kiss in a desperate attempt to ease the pain in her heart.

Their kiss quickly became passionate.
He pressed her body closer to his, thrilled that she wanted him like he wanted
her. He backed closer to the bed, pulling her with him, and kissing her still.

Reaching out, he turned off the
lights, leaving the bedside lamp on, giving the room a soft romantic glow.

Eve pulled off his jacket and then
started to unbutton his shirt. Her heart was pounding with love.

Julian needed no more encouragement.
He unbuttoned her blouse, pulled it off her shoulders, and then tossed it
to the floor.

His shirt soon followed, as did
the rest of their clothes. Julian admired her beautiful body, and then proceeded
to kiss her passionately.

Eve clung to him, savoring every
moment of making love with him, giving herself to him, her whole being...heart,
body, mind, and soul. It was as if she had been made just for him, and he
for her.

They spent the night together, wrapped
in each other’s; arms, and then later, made love again. Neither she nor Julian
had even thought about protection. And it never came up.

The following morning, while Julian
still slept, Eve sat and watched him, his face etched in her brain. With
tears in her eyes, Eve scribbled him a note and explained to him that even
though she loved him, she could not stay with him, and how their relationship
would not work out - that he would be better off without her. All in all,
she did not give Julian a satisfactory explanation for why she was leaving.

Placing the note on the table, Eve
took one last look at Julian and quickly left the room, fearing partly that
he would awaken, and partly that she would change her mind and stay.

Eve moved quickly and quietly down
the hall to the front desk. She told the desk attendant that she would not
return, and paid her bill. As she got into her car, the tears were streaming
down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. “Julian, my love, maybe
someday you will understand and forgive why I had to do this,” Eve thought,
trying to reassure herself that she was doing the right thing.

A rut in the road caused Eve to
snap back to reality. The car swerved slightly and then straightened out.
Her heart pounding, she gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove a little
slower.

As the rain continued to pour, Eve’s
thoughts once again drifted back in time. To prevent being found, Eve had
left her phone number unlisted and requested that her name at her employment
be kept as discrete as possible.

And as good as Julian’s resources
were, it appeared that he was not bothering to pursue her. It grieved her
heart to think that he wasn't even going to try to find her. But then she
thought that maybe her note had convinced him enough to leave her alone.

Eve looked into the rearview mirror.
J.T., now two years and four months, was playing with a book. Julian’s
son! They had not used protection that night. One month later, Eve had realized
that she was pregnant, and it was confirmed by her doctor.

Going through the birth on her own
was very difficult for her. She had wanted to call Julian so many times, but
she was determined to keep her end of the bargain. She was thrilled though
to have a son, Julian’s son. At least she had part of him with her,
even though her heart still longed for him.

Eve finally arrived at work. She
parked her car, grabbed the umbrella and unbuckled J.T. Then she lifted him
from his car seat.

“Mommy.” He reached
out happily and hugged her neck.

“Oh, honey, Mommy loves you
very much.” She held his small body close.

“Kiss?” he offered as
he planted a noisy one on her cheek.

Eve laughed and kissed him back.

Dropping J.T. off at the nursery,
Eve rode the elevator to the third floor of the hospital. She considered herself
very fortunate to have gotten into medical school. Eve realized being a doctor
was her calling in life, but wouldn’t disclose how she was paying for
it. She worked hard, and it was starting to pay off for her.

Joel Ward, the chief of staff, took
a keen interest in her and encouraged her work. They had hit it off right
away. Though he was 45, he still looked youthful and very handsome. They even
dated sometimes, but though Eve tried, her heart was just not in it.

Feeling that she needed to see other
men to get over Julian, Eve went along with dating Joel, and never let him
see what her true feelings were. She felt bad for using him like that because
he was a true gentleman and a wonderful friend.

When Eve reached her desk, Joel’s
head popped out of his office. “Eve, can you come in here for a minute?”

Eve smiled and said, “Sure,
I’ll be right there.”

Joel grinned. “Thanks.”

Joel sat behind his large oak desk
and waved her in. Eve entered the spacious office and glanced around. Floor
to ceiling windows covered the wall behind his desk. A leather couch and chair
with coffee tables complemented another wall. Joel Ward was a rich man; he
had it all, but what he didn’t have was Eve Johnson.

Eve smiled and approached the desk.
“You called, sir,”.; She saluted him jokingly.

He laughed and stood to greet her.
Walking around the desk, he drew her into his arms and kissed her. Eve responded
and then pushed him back. “Why did you call me in here?” she asked.

“Well, I love to kiss you,”
he teased and tried to steal another.

“Be serious, Joel.”

“Oh, all right,” he
gave in and straightened his tie. “We are hosting a party here tonight.
Some very important people will be there, including the richest men in the
state. And I...well, I thought that maybe you would consider being my
date.” He smiled at her hopefully.

“Well, I would have to find
a baby-sitter...” she started.

“Done; you can leave J.T.
in daycare downstairs. Some of the doctors do have children, so care for
them has been provided. It’s hard to find decent care these day, so
we feel that is the least we can do. We even hired designated drivers if there
is the need for any.” He smiled.

“Well, since you put it that
way, I guess it might be fun.” Eve grinned.

“Great, shall I pick you and
J.T. up at eight then?” he asked.

“That would be fine.”

“OK then, since that’s
settled, let’s get back to work before we create the latest gossip.”
He quickly kissed her on the lips and then opened the door and let her get
back to her work.

After supper, Eve dressed J.T. and
then got dressed herself. She put on a knee-length black evening dress and
wore her long dark hair down.

Eve peeked into the living room
and smiled as she watched J.T. play with a tractor. What a precious boy he
was. She jumped slightly when the doorbell rang. J.T. scrambled to his feet
and yelled, “I get it!”

As he tried to slip past his mother,
Eve stopped him and forced him to walk with her to get their coats and shoes.
As she had expected, it was Joel.

Dressed in a black tux, he stood
and grinned at her. “Ready?”

Eve smiled. “Yes, let me just
get J.T. dressed.” She turned and grabbed the boy’s coat.

While she was helping her son on
with his coat, Joel stepped inside and closed the door. He watched her and
her son quietly. “It just occurred to me that all this time that I have
known you, I have never bothered to ask what J.T. stands for,” he remarked
suddenly.

“Julian Trey,” Eve informed
him. “I named him after his father,” she volunteered, knowing
that Joel would just press for the information.

When she stood, Joel noticed that
she was trembling slightly. “Are you OK, Eve? Do you want to talk about
it?”

Eve shook her head. “No, there
is nothing to talk about. It’s over; it was a long time ago.”

“Then why did you name him
after his father?” Joel asked, realizing that he had hit a nerve.

“Even though it didn’t
work out back then, I still loved him. I...I guess I just wanted him to
be a part of his son’s life, even if in name only.”

“But you’re over him,
right?”

“Right...” Eve tried
her best to be convincing. "Can we just forget about this and get to
the party, Joel? I really don’t want to drag myself through an evening
of bad memories.”

“Sure.” Joel smiled
gently. “I’m sorry I started it; I didn’t mean to upset
you.” He opened the door and held it while she and J.T walked to his
limousine.

Sitting comfortably in the car,
Eve placed her hand on Joel’s arm and said, “You didn’t
upset me, Joel. I’m just trying to make a new life here with J.T.”
She smiled.

Joel took her hand and squeezed
it. “Maybe the party will do you some good then.”

“I think so.” She smiled.

Arriving at the party, they were
escorted inside. After taking J.T. to the daycare room, Eve and Joel joined
the party. A collection of what was considered to be the richest men in the
state were all drinking champagne and engaging in conversations.

Music started to play; Joel turned
to Eve and said, “Would you like to dance?”

Smiling, she said, “Yes?”

While they were dancing, Joel said, “You look so beautiful tonight.”

Eve smiled. “You look pretty
terrific yourself.”

They laughed.

“There is someone that I would
like you to meet. I think you will find him fascinating. In my book, one of
the richest men this state has to offer. I bragged about you and offered him
a dance with you if...he would consider giving a donation to the new wing
the hospital wants to build.” Joel grinned.

“Great way to win him over,”
Eve laughed. “Where is this 'fascinating' man?” She mimicked with
a smile.